In The Press

reviews from chamber and orchestral concerts

Having only experienced it once, it is difficult to put my feelings, impressions, and thoughts from Brachetta’s string quartet, separated into three separate movements, into words.
To some extent, what I can express will only be ‘general’, but… I thought it was wonderful. Structurally, the first movement grabbed me and took me on a fast-paced journey – it was frantic,
confusing, violent and visceral. During the second movement, I felt a ‘drop’ in energy, a lull and a calming, but a false one –a mixture of emotions similar to the feeling one gets between a headache and the state of reverie as one wakes from a dream – damp, cloudy and nostalgic. Then the third movement picked up again. Revitalising and re-energising, it took me back to the first… almost.

It was as if there was something slightly different – it was reminiscent of the first, but there had been a change, as if Fabricio had metamorphosed, had been unknowingly re-directed, by the events and concomitant emotions caused by those in the second movement. It felt like the first movement was Brachetta in his true element – hectic, passionate, excitable, frustrated… Then the nature and energy expressed in the ‘events’ of the second movement had changed (or were changing) him… almost as if he were caged – left ignored, drugged and sedated by the challenges and vicissitudes of everyday life.

Then the cage door was opened. There was still the need and desire for self-expression, but it felt like there was a struggle within, that he was finding it impossible to absolve and release himself from the things that had changed and affected him… like after one loses a loved one, through death or separation… They have had an effect on one’s existence, and can never truly be deleted from the history of the soul.

It felt that Brachetta’s natural spirit was most truly represented in the form of the cello – calm, authoritative, secure, but quiet… Like when one is truly relaxed, rested and without worry. The first violin felt like the movement and mood of his mind – powerful, chaotic but organised, directorial and communicative.

The second violin and the viola felt like Brachetta’s insecurities and instabilities within himself and with the world around him, interrupting the truthful aspects and expressions of his individual self, and representing the elements of (his) life that cause doubt and anxiety. A fantastic piece of moving and challenging music!

(Stephen Pucci at London’s Composers group-London)

Fabricio Brachetta’s Elephant Man

2007- REVIEWS:

Original score for Bernard Pomerance’s The Elephant Man.(Trafalgar Theatre,London)

Evocative and haunting music by Fabricio Brachetta”(Peter Brown-London Theatre Guide)
“Atmospheric music, composed by Fabricio Brachetta adds notes of poignancy to some of Merrick’s more heart-wrenching scenes” (Review by Mary Couzens )

Review in Europost

28th January,2012

He is just 28 old, yet he has tast­ed suc­cess and knows how it feels to receive stand­ing ova­tions by hun­dreds of peo­ple. Cur­rent­ly Boy­an Ivan­ov is the only Bul­gar­i­an clar­i­net­tist in the UK.

Cap­ti­vat­ing the hearts of the Eng­lish, the young Bul­gar­i­an is now using his tal­ent in an attempt to sup­port those, who have had strokes or suf­fered brain inju­ries. On 28 Jan­u­ary Boy­an per­formed two clar­i­net con­cer­tos in one con­cert as a solo­ist of the Lon­don Arte Cham­ber Orches­tra at St. Gabri­el’s Church in Pim­li­co, Lon­don.

The con­cert was a char­i­ty event donat­ing all the funds raised to the Stroke Asso­ci­a­tion. The idea belongs to Argen­tin­e­an con­duct­or Fab­ri­cio Bra­chet­ta, whose father has also had a stroke. Bra­chet­ta was stunned by Boy­an’s tal­ent when he heard him play­ing Moz­art’s Clar­i­net Con­cer­to with the Dul­wich Sym­pho­ny Orches­tra.

He then decid­ed it was the gift­ed Bul­gar­i­an musi­cian, who could deliv­er a bril­liant per­form­ance play­ing to a full house. Boy­an Ivan­ov was born in Yam­bol. In his ten­der years he took piano les­sons. He start­ed play­ing clar­i­net at the Plov­div Acad­e­my of Music, Dance and Fine Arts.

In 2003 the clar­i­net­tist art­ist won third prize from the 2003 Inter­na­tion­al Com­pe­ti­tion for French Music Per­form­ance.He has par­tic­i­pat­ed in the Mas­ter class­es of Andrew Mar­rin­er (UK), Rob­ert Spring (USA), Charles Nei­dich (USA), Rein­er Wehle (Ger­ma­ny), Nic­o­las Bal­der­ou (France), Herve Clig­ni­ez (France).

Boy­an has played as a solo­ist and toured exten­sive­ly through­out Europe and South Korea with sev­er­al Bul­gar­i­an orches­tras. In 2008/09 he stud­ied with the Span­ish vir­tu­o­so clar­i­net­tist, Joan Enric Llu­na at Trin­i­ty Col­lege of Music, where he was Prin­ci­pal Clar­i­net of the Trin­i­ty Sym­pho­ny and Cham­ber Orches­tras, and played with Trin­i­ty Jazz Ensem­ble.

He par­tic­i­pat­ed in the Young Jan­a­cek Phil­har­mon­ic under the direc­tion of Jan Lath­am Koen­ig in France. Lat­er he was invit­ed by Ital­ian pian­ist Emil­io Aver­sano to make his debut on the Ital­ian stage with two con­certs in Tro­pea and Piz­zo.

In 2010 Boy­an got his Mas­ter Degree from the Guild­hall School of Music and Dra­ma, where he was stud­y­ing with Julian Far­rell and Nick Car­pen­ter, and was Prin­ci­pal Clar­i­net of the Guild­hall Sym­pho­ny Orches­tra. The same year he received the Mak­ing Music Phi­lip & Doro­thy Green Award for Young Con­cert Art­ists.

For the time being he is the only Bul­gar­i­an musi­cian, who has received this pres­tig­ious award. He plays reg­u­lar­ly with Ori­on Sym­pho­ny Orches­tra and Lon­don Arte Cham­ber Orches­tra.

Mozart concert to raise money for the Stroke Association

3:32pm Wednesday 25th January 2012 in Bromley By Rachel Conner

A MUSICIAN is holding a concert in aid of the Stroke Association after being inspired by the support they gave his father.

Fabricio Brachetta, a composer and musical conductor, decided to raise funds for the charity after seeing first hand the work it does.

Turning 40 this year has really opened my eyes to how young he was. Stroke can happen to anyone.

My main goal is to help people find out about stroke. I have always wanted to do something to help the cause.

Mr Brachetta, 39, of Chaffinch Road, Beckenham, said: “My father had had a stroke at the age of 43 and when I was growing up it was very difficult for him and the whole family.

“The piece and it’s atmospheric music and performance, composed by Fabricio Brachetta adds notes of poignancy to some of Merrick’s more heart-wrenching scenes” (Bernard Pomerance’s The elephant man) (Review by Mary Couzens -London)

“Fabricio Brachetta’s evocative and haunting music. This is a fine production which has all the hallmarks of compelling theatre, even if the story itself is almost a ‘dream vehicle’ – in the wrong hands it could all too easily turn into a nightmare”
Peter Brown- London Theatre Guide